The Cuscatlán Battalion () was a military unit of the

Armed Forces of El Salvador The Armed Forces of El Salvador () are the official governmental military forces of El Salvador. The Forces have three branches: the Salvadoran Army, the Salvadoran Air Force and the Navy of El Salvador. History Spanish colonial rule In the 19 ...

(FAES) that participated in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

from 2003 to 2009. The Cuscatlán Battalion served under the Polish-led

Multinational Division Central-South Multinational Division Central-South (MND-CS), created in September 2003, and supported by NATO, was a part of the Multinational Force Iraq. Headquartered in Camp Echo, it was under Polish command until October 2008, when the last of Poland's tr ...

(MN–DCS) throughout its deployment. From 2003 to 2004, it was also a part of the Spanish-led

Plus Ultra Brigade The Plus Ultra Brigade, or ''Brigada Hispanoamericana'', was a military contingent of mixed personnel from Spain (some 1,300 troops), the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua (about 1,200 troops between the four), which was com ...

. During the Cuscatlán Battalion's deployment, it rendered humanitarian aid, assisted in reconstruction projects, conducted

demining Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By cont ...

operations, and protected

Multi-National Force – Iraq The Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF–I), often referred to as the Coalition forces, was a U.S.-led military command during the Iraq War from 2004 to 2009. The vast majority of MNF-I was made up of United States Army forces. However it also ...

(MNF–I) convoys. The battalion engaged in a few skirmishes against Iraqi militants during its deployment, suffering 5 deaths and 20 injuries. The Cuscatlán Battalion withdrew from Iraq in 2009 after years of debate in El Salvador over involvement in the Iraq War; the right-wing

Nationalist Republican Alliance The Nationalist Republican Alliance (, abbreviated ARENA) is a conservative, center-right to right-wing political party of El Salvador. It was founded on 30 September 1981 by retired Salvadoran Army Major Roberto D'Aubuisson. It defines itse ...

(ARENA) had supported involvement, while the left-wing

Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (, abbreviated FMLN) is a Salvadoran political party and former guerrilla rebel group. The FMLN was formed as an umbrella group on 10 October 1980, from five leftist guerrilla organizations; ...

(FMLN) opposed it.

Background

In May 2003, the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

approved Resolution 1483 that allowed the international community to support the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in rebuilding

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq overthrew

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

's government. On 11 June 2003, Salvadoran president

Francisco Flores Pérez Francisco Guillermo Flores Pérez (17 October 1959 – 30 January 2016) was a Salvadoran politician who served as President of El Salvador from 1 June 1999 to 1 June 2004 as a member of the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA). ...

announced that

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

would send a contingent of soldiers to assist in rebuilding Iraq. The unit was named the Cuscatlán Battalion.

Organization

The Cuscatlán Battalion was named after

Cuzcatlan Cuzcatlan (; ) was a pre-Columbian Nahua state confederation of the Mesoamerican postclassical period that extended from the Paz river to the Lempa river (covering most of western El Salvador); this was the nation that ...

, an ancient group of

Maya peoples Maya () are an ethnolinguistic group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people who lived w ...

that once lived in El Salvador. The

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

was composed of handpicked

Salvadoran Army The Salvadoran Army (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Ejército Salvadoreño'') is the land branch and largest of the Armed Forces of El Salvador. History The Football War The Football War (also called The Soccer War or 100-hours War) was a ter ...

infantrymen, engineers, combat service support troops, and special forces soldiers. These soldiers helped render humanitarian aid to Iraqis and assisted in reconstruction projects. The Cuscatlán Battalion peaked at 380 soldiers, and a cumulative 5,800 soldiers served in the infantry

. The battalion was garrisoned in

Najaf Najaf is the capital city of the Najaf Governorate in central Iraq, about 160 km (99 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2024 is about 1.41 million people. It is widely considered amongst the holiest cities of Shia Islam an ...

at Base El Salvador from 2003 to 2005, in

Hillah Hillah ( ''al-Ḥillah''), also spelled Hilla, is a city in central Iraq. On the Hilla branch of the Euphrates River, it is south of Baghdad. The population was estimated to be about 455,700 in 2018. It is the capital of Babylon Province and is ...

from 2005 to 2006, and in

Kut Kūt (), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare, Kut al-Imara, or Kut Al Amara is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad, and the capital of the Wasit Governorate. the estimated populatio ...

at Forward Operating Base Delta from 2006 to 2009. Soldiers of the Cuscatlán Battalion were equipped with the several firearms including M16A2 carbine rifles; M2, M60, and

M249 The M249 SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon), formally the Light Machine Gun, 5.56 mm, M249, is the United States Armed Forces adaptation of the Belgian FN Minimi, a light machine gun manufactured by FN Herstal (FN). The M249 SAW is manufactured in th ...

machine guns;

M203 The M203 is a single-shot 40 mm under-barrel grenade launcher designed to attach to a rifle. It uses the same rounds as the older stand-alone M79 break-action grenade launcher, which utilizes the high-low propulsion system to keep recoil forces ...

grenade launchers; and

Beretta M9 The Beretta M9, officially the Pistol, Semiautomatic, 9mm, M9, is the designation for the Beretta 92FS semi-automatic pistol used by the United States Armed Forces. The M9 was adopted by the United States military as their service pistol in 1 ...

pistols. They also operated

Humvee The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of Military light utility vehicle, light, four-wheel drive Military vehicle#Military trucks, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It ...

s and M35 cargo trucks equipped with M60 machine guns and anti-explosive systems. The main force of the Cuscatlán Battalion consisted of three infantry

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

that had 80

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

men each. The three companies consisted of three infantry

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

s and one command group. The battalion also had

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

medical Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercion). Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems, or any other entity or ...

communications Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

, and elite platoons under three other companies.

History

Deployment

On 12 August 2003, the Cuscatlán Battalion left El Salvador for

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

where the unit received various types of training before its deployment to Iraq. After completing their training, the battalion deployed to Iraq on 26 August 2003 as a part of the Spanish-led

along with soldiers from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

, and

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. The Cuscatlán Battalion's 360 soldiers were garrisoned in Najaf and assisted the Polish-led

(MN–DCS) in the Iraqi governorates of Al-Qādisiyyah, Babil,

, and

Wasit Wasit (, ) was an early Islamic city in Iraq. It was founded in the 8th century by the Umayyad viceroy of Iraq, al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, to serve as the region's seat and as the garrison of the Syrian troops who enforced Umayyad rule there. It was ...

. In February 2004, Nicaraguan forces withdrew from Iraq due to funding issues, and, by the end of 2004, the remaining members of the Plus Ultra Brigade, except for El Salvador, withdrew from Iraq due to public opposition to involvement in the Iraq War at home. The withdrawal of the Plus Ultra Brigade left the Cuscatlán Battalion as the only remaining

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

n military unit in Iraq. After the Plus Ultra Brigade withdrew, El Salvador increased the number of soldiers in the Cuscatlán Battalion from 360 to 380.

Engagements

Throughout Cuscatlán Battalion's deployment, it continued to render humanitarian aid through distributing food and clothes and providing medical treatment. It also helped reconstruct homes, roads, schools, hospitals, water treatment plants, and other infrastructure that had been destroyed by the war. In addition to this, Salvadoran soldiers also provided security to

(MNF–I) convoys and conducted

operations. On 4 April 2004, militants of the

Mahdi Army The Mahdi Army () was an Iraqi Shia militia created by Muqtada al-Sadr in June 2003 and disbanded in 2008. The Mahdi Army rose to international prominence on April 4, 2004, when it spearheaded the first major armed confrontation against the ...

ambushed an MNF-I convoy that the Cuscatlán Battalion was protecting at the Al Ándalus Base in Najaf. The ambush killed one soldier, Private Natividad Méndez Ramos, and injured twelve more. When the four remaining soldiers ran out of ammunition, Corporal Samuel González Toloza fended off militants with a knife in hand-to-hand combat until reinforcements arrived. On 7 May 2004, Flores awarded the Cuscatlán Battalion the Golden Medal to Merit for its service in Najaf. On 12 November 2004, United States Secretary of Defense

Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, businessman, and naval officer who served as United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and again ...

awarded six Salvadoran soldiers the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

for their actions in the April 2004 ambush. Cuscatlán Battalion suffered a number of additional deaths and injuries. On 27 July 2004, Carlos Armando Godoy Castro was killed in a vehicle accident in Hillah. On 19 July 2006, a convoy of six Cuscatlán Battalion Humvees was ambushed by Iraqi militants outside Kut when an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

(IED) was detonated under one of the Humvees. The explosion killed one soldier, Sub-Sergeant José Miguel Perdomo Sánchez, and injured another. On 27 July 2006, another ambush by militants killed one soldier, Sub-Sergeant Donald Alberto Ramírez García, and injured another. On 27 August 2006, Iraqi militants launched a mortar attack on Forward Operating Base Delta (the battalion's garrison at the time) but nobody was killed or injured. On 20 October 2006, militants attacked another Salvadoran convoy with an IED detonation outside

An Numaniyah An-Nu'mānīyah () is a city on the Tigris river in Iraq, located roughly southeast of Baghdad in the Wasit Province. It is the site of one of four national training centers for the Iraqi Army. It is also the site of a base that was built by t ...

. The attacked killed one soldier, Captain José Argelio Soto Ochoa, and injured four more.

Opposition

Opinion polls in El Salvador found that a majority of Salvadorans opposed involvement in the Iraq War. One opinion poll conducted by ''

La Prensa Gráfica ''La Prensa Gráfica'', commonly known as ''La Prensa'', is a daily newspaper published in El Salvador by Grupo Dutriz. ''La Prensa'' is a mainstream metropolitan newspaper, and became one of the first newspapers to print in color in Central Am ...

'' in December 2006 found that 81 percent of Salvadorans opposed sending more soldiers to Iraq while only 12 percent supported sending more soldiers. Some Salvadorans also held protest rallies against involvement. El Salvador's government at the time was controlled by the right-wing

(ARENA), and ARENA presidents Flores (1999–2004) and

Antonio Saca Elías Antonio "Tony" Saca González (born 9 March 1965) is a Salvadoran politician who was President of El Salvador from 1 June 2004 to 1 June 2009. He is currently serving a minimum 10-year prison sentence on corruption charges. Early li ...

(2004–2009) had strong connections with U.S. president

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

. While ARENA supported involvement in the war, the left-wing opposition

(FMLN) opposed involvement. Votes within the

Legislative Assembly of El Salvador The Legislative Assembly () is the legislative branch of the government of El Salvador. History The organization was founded in 1824 as the Central American Congress (). Structure The Salvadoran legislature is a unicameral body. Until ...

to extend El Salvador's involvement in the Iraq War were divided along partisan lines with ARENA, the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

(PDC), and

National Conciliation Party The National Coalition Party (, PCN) is a nationalist political party in El Salvador. Until 2011 it was known as the National Conciliation Party (, PCN). It was the most powerful political party in the country during the 1960s and 1970s, and w ...

(PCN) voting in favor of extensions and the FMLN voting against extensions. During the 2004 Salvadoran presidential election, FMLN nominee

Schafik Hándal Schafik Jorge Hándal Hándal (; October 14, 1930 – January 24, 2006) was a Salvadoran politician. Biography Born in Usulután, he was the son of Palestinian immigrants from the town of Bethlehem. Between 1973 and 1994, he was the general sec ...

promised to withdraw the Cuscatlán Battalion from Iraq, while Saca warned that doing so would risk the U.S. canceling the

temporary protected status Temporary protected status (TPS) is given by the United States government to eligible nationals of designated countries, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security, who are present in the United States. In general, the Secretary of Hom ...

of Salvadorans living in the U.S. in retaliation for withdrawing.

Withdrawal

In 2007, the Salvadoran government reduced the number of soldiers in the Cuscatlán Battalion from 380 to 280. On 18 December 2008, the Iraqi government signed an agreement with the Salvadoran government to allow the Cuscatlán Battalion to remain in Iraq until the end of 2009. This came as the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

' mandate to intervene in Iraq was set to expire on 31 December 2008. Regardless, on 23 December 2008, Saca announced that the Cuscatlán Battalion would withdraw from Iraq shortly after the UN mandate expired. In his announcement, Saca told reporters "mission accomplished". Saca had previously justified El Salvador's participation in the Iraq War by stating that the country's participation was to thank the international community for supporting the Salvadoran government during the

Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War () was a twelve-year civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador, backed by the United States, and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition of left-wing guer ...

of 1979 to 1992. He also stated that El Salvador was sending a message to the Iraqi people that it was "possible to rebuild

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

country even from ashes and to procure a future for

children and generations to come". The battalion withdrew from Iraq on 22 January 2009 and its last soldiers returned to El Salvador on 7 February 2009. Divisional General Otto Romero, the

minister of national defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

during Saca's presidency, stated in February 2009 that the Cuscatlán Battalion had completed 353 infrastructure projects and 191 humanitarian aid missions that cost around US$30 million. In total, five Cuscatlán Battalion soldiers were killed in Iraq (four in combat and one in an accident) and twenty more were wounded.

Commanders

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuscatlan Battalion 2003 establishments in El Salvador 2009 disestablishments in El Salvador El Salvador in the Iraq War Military units and formations established in 2003 Military units and formations disestablished in 2009 Military units and formations of El Salvador Multinational force involved in the Iraq War